Edible Food Finds: Hollis Hills Farm
Photos by Little Outdoor Giants
Picturesque Hollis Hills Farm is perched atop Marshall Road in Fitchburg surrounded by rolling hills, a view of Mt. Wachusett and acres of fruit trees and farm animals. In 2014, Jim and Allison Lattanzi endeavored to bring a vacant old farm back to life. Now, in their seventh growing season, Hollis Hills Farm has been transformed into a thriving farm and destination.
Jim’s fervor for agriculture and business began in Lunenburg at age 10 when he delivered fresh eggs—from his 33 laying hens—to customers by bicycle. His self-owned catering gig in college, featuring pig roasts and barbecue, yielded a post-grad food truck business and ultimately reignited Jim’s passion for farming. In 2009, he and Allison rented land on Hollis Road in Lunenburg where they lived and started a farm. They cleared the land and began keeping laying hens, meat chickens, pigs and beef cattle. They married in 2010.
As the farm grew, the Lattanzis incorporated an old sugarhouse and started Hollis Hills Maple Syrup, which Jim says is now the largest Massachusetts-based maple syrup producer east of the Connecticut River. When the former Marshall Farm came on the market for just the second time in two centuries, the couple bought it and brought the Hollis name, their family, livestock and sugarhouse along.
Thus began the process of preserving and transforming the land, the old farmhouse where they live and the concept of what a farm has to offer.
While Allison balanced her role at the farm with a nursing career, Jim assembled a core crew to reimagine what an orchard-based farm could bring to the community. They turned the farm’s main building into a retail barn where customers shop for maple syrup, pies, Maple Valley ice cream, even pre-picked flowers and fruit.
According to Jim, their team can do anything from building picnic tables (as they did to accommodate outdoor seating during the pandemic) to making apple cider doughnuts to conceptualizing an inventive menu. The re-created business model includes fun for an afternoon that stretches beyond berry or apple picking to live music and easy lunch on the front lawn.
Hollis Hills Farm’s restaurant specializes in farm-to-table fare elevated by Executive Chef Isaac Carter. Where Jim provides vision and drive, Isaac brings creativity, efficiency and quality.
The cornbread with maple butter is show-stopping. The maple bacon for the house BLT is cured by Chef Carter, and his PB&J wings satisfy every sweet and salty craving. Homegrown berries flavor the sangria. Local craft beers, including those from Stone Cow Brewery and Wachusett Brewing Company, are available on tap. Pancake breakfasts in the spring feature Hollis Hills Maple Syrup and fresh eggs.
Be sure to check for tours of the sugarhouse when the farm reopens in March. Come mid-May, visitors enjoy U-Pick seasonal fruits, outdoor dining and a music tent featuring live tunes every weekend through autumn; they walk the land and feed the animals until the farm closes to the public for a winter reset. In January, Hollis Hills Farm will be halfway through hibernation and quietly ramping up their plans for spring 2021. Join them.
This story appeared in the Winter 2021 issue.
